I doesn't mater what I plan to get done it just never turns out that way. Today I was going to start some suspension installation. Then I got looking at the OME springs and decided to do the paint test on them. I took a rag and soaked it with laquer thinner. I rubbed the spring with the rag and the paint dissolved immediately. Gotta repaint.

I glass beaded the rims last night so as long as I am mixing paint I may as well tape them off and paint them too. So I spent the whole day taping off the rims and getting the stuff ready for paint.

I did get the springs, rear shackles, and the rims painted with the same poly urethane paint I used on the frame.

You guessed it! Shiny Black. Pics tomorrow when the paint dries.

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If you always do what you've always done. You will always get what you've always got.

Yesterday I got busy painting the springs, rear shackles, and wheels. I painted the back and inside of the wheels because I plan to drive this through the winter and the salt, or whatever it is they are using that's 10 times worse than salt, will eat these up fast. Also, some of these older rims can get porous spots in them that will cause a leak so the paint will seal it all up.

This is the primer I use for these odds and ends. Makes paint stick to everything including plastic. "Bulldog"

Springs and things:

And wouldn't you know it, after I painted the rear shackles, I came out to look today and they slid together and dried that way. "That's gonna leave a mark."

So here is the face of the rims still taped.

Here it is with the tape off, the new lug nuts, and centers. Those are American racing centers but I am going to take that emblem off and replace is with a 4x4 sticker. Or maybe an AMC sticker, or something. Now, the aluminum part is still glass beaded. I need to polish that to a chrome like finish and clear coat it. That will be the tedious part.

But when they are done they should look like this: (I hope)

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If you always do what you've always done. You will always get what you've always got.

The reason I chose these is because I can sand down the ridges and polish them like the wheel spokes, paint the body black and clear the ridges, and the diff covers will not only match the wheels but will be totally coated to protect from salt.

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If you always do what you've always done. You will always get what you've always got.

I do have a plan. The good news here is I have a hernia operation in a week or so with the resulting week off from work. So I can sit at the work bench in the basement, drink coffee, watch TV, and polish these pieces.

I got this drum sanding kit to get the rough stuff off. No idea if this will work or not but worth a try. The rest will need to be done by hand unless I can dream up a better way.

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If you always do what you've always done. You will always get what you've always got.

After you drum sand those ribs on the covers, you may need to wetsand with 400, 600, 800,1000 and like 1200. Then you get some Mother's Mag & Alum polish and chuck one of these polishers below in a drill or your drill press and polish away. Same with the ribs on your wheels. You wetsand thru the grits, and after polishing they'll shine like glass. You can spend like 3-4hours per wheel, but its well worth the effort.